Suspects in Brunswick County double murder make first court appearances

BOLIVIA, N.C. (WECT) - Two suspects accused of killing a Brunswick County man and woman in Winnabow over the weekend made their first court appearances Monday afternoon.

Logan Neal Young, 19, of Winnabow, and Joshua Larmonte Carter, 20, of Southport, are both charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree robbery with a dangerous weapon.

In court, prosecutors said Young, without explanation, confessed to shooting and killing Xavier Stevenson and Myla Payne, both 19, during a marijuana deal late Saturday night.

According to prosecutors, Stevenson agreed through social media app Snapchat to give a discounted amount of marijuana to Young with the understanding that Young would turn around and sell it later.

The four individuals later met up on Lee Buck Road in Winnabow around 11:30 p.m. Saturday. During the meeting, there was a dispute on the discount that Stevenson was going to give Young on the deal.

As Stevenson and Payne were driving away, Stevenson got out of the car to use the bathroom. Prosecutors say Young then pulled up next to Stevenson and fatally shot him and Payne.

As Young and Carter were trying to remove Payne’s body from the car, they saw headlights coming down the road and took off on foot.

Around 9:30 p.m. Sunday, the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office announced that deputies had arrested the pair.

According to family and friends of the victims, the suspects and the victims were friends. Payne and Stevenson’s friend, Dylan Noble, said he was shocked to hear who was charged.

“I was really upset. I couldn’t take my eyes off of someone (in the courtroom) that I once considered a friend killing one of my friends," Noble said. "I just sat there and imagined that was the person that took my family and my friends away from me, but that was someone I considered a friend too, so it’s mixed emotions.”

Noble described Payne and Stevenson as kind, smart, caring and willing to do anything for their friends. Payne planned to start working as a pharmacy technician at the end of the summer.

“I’m missing a part of me without them. That’s how I’d describe them, friends, family,” Noble said.

Family and friends of Payne and Stevenson filled the courtroom Monday, visibly upset. Members of the suspects’ families were in the courtroom as well.

The victims’ families said they’re disgusted by a Facebook post Young made just hours before he was arrested. It reads,"RIP two gone too soon. They ain’t deserve that. Gonna miss 'em fr. Fly high."

Warrants indicate that Young and Carter were armed with a .44 magnum handgun and allegedly stole five ounces of marijuana and $500 in cash from Stevenson and Payne.

Both suspects chose to have court appointed attorneys, and are being held under no bond in the Brunswick County Detention Center.

Their next court date is July 23.

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